- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
I'll start by saying I'm very excited to play ODST, and based on all the videos i'm seeing right now it looks like it will be a fantastic game. Very fun, very intense, with a great story. All of the hands on have seemed positive and I can't wait to play this game. That said I have a few issues with what I'm seeing.
First I'll say this is supposition based on 2nd hand impressions only, so I'll admit my knowledge here is limited. I do feel like after watching some players demo the game though that it does not look like what I wanted as a player.
I think the moment that started me thinking the most about this was while demoing the game the player went toe to toe with a Brute (and a compliment of grunts). Even on normal difficulty it seems at odds with the lore for a single ODST to be able to take a brute in open combat. Now had the demoing player had to use a little more stealth, maybe get the first shot off say, or generally do something more involved than run in and strafe-shoot then it would be fine, but he didn't. He was able to take down a brute with little problem (not taking any health loss even), and all while trading shots with him.
I understand not wanting to make the game extremely hard, but it just seems like this ODST isn't much more than MC in Halo 1. Which I understand a lot of players want, and I get the feeling from these game displays that this was what the design team was shooting for, but it really feels like a lost chance to do something really game changing. I mean if an ODST can go toe to toe with what is supposedly the hardest to kill member of the Covenant, what is the point of the Spartans? Why are they special?
I mean in the game you have "stamina" I heard it called, which for all intents and purposes is a shield. I understand gameplay comes first, but this just baffles me. It seems like you had a chance to blend the best elements from games like rainbow six and modern warfare with the best of halo and you instead remade something that looks and feels all halo.
I think what I wanted from this game was what one of the first videos showed. The Rookie hidden in shadows, waiting for a patrol to go by before moving on. And maybe these elements exist in the game and they just don't demo well since people don't get excited about waiting, but if a player can solo a brute and a squad of grunts without a scratch I find it hard to think of a situation where he would need to be anything but guns-a-blazing.
I wanted each time I saw a group of enemies I had that "fight or flight" moment where I weighed my options. And this game looks all fight. I wanted those moments of indecission where I need to move on, but a patrol is blocking me. I have to sneak and use the terrain to my advantage. My greatest weapon was my mind, and I don't see that from what was shown.
What's sad is even if this sort of game was going to be too slow for players you have flashbacks to mix in some more intense firefights into the game. You had a system built in to relieve the tension and deliver those intense firefights, and I don't see it. There is all fight, all the time.
It really looks like the ODST will be a bullet sponge and I think this ruins what could have been a very very tense atmosphere where you are genuinely worried about each encounter since you are the underdog and are outgunned. The lone ODST in any of the demos never looked outgunned, even verse a large group of enemies. This seems very wrong, and like a wasted chance.
This game doesn't look to require much thought, and the videos had me hoping for a smarter halo game. A slower paced game I guess. I mean I love the halo games, they are fantastically tuned shooters and everything in them works great. But I've played those game. I wanted Bungie to push the envelope here and try something truly unique and I feel like i'm going to get the same Halo again. It feels like you had the chance to cut ties and show some diversity. Try something risky and really mix up the gameplay, and it looks like you didn't take near as many risks as I hoped you would.
I understand this sort of stuff is at times silly. I have such limited knowledge of the game, and I don't know your design goals. But everything I've seen so far from the demos and videos coming from E3, it seems like I'll get more Halo, and not something really unique and exciting.
I'm still looking forward to this game and I'm positive I'll enjoy it, but I'm not excited about it anymore. And that's a shame because the ODST's are my favorite part of the whole Halo universe.
[Edited on 06.04.2009 8:41 AM PDT]